Teachers empowering students while letting go

Tuesday 28th November, 2017

OneSchool’s global regional principal Hugo Vaughan recently
held a webinar at Glenvale’s Swan Hill campus. The seminar covered a variety of
subjects, which will be covered in a series of articles that will be available
on OneSchool’s Australian websites.

Part 1: Why Learning
to Learn?

Mr Vaughan is a passionate teacher and it comes across in
his delivery. As Global Regional Principal, part of his remit is to help
reinforce the teaching agenda set by the Leadership Team and to make sure that
the students at OneSchool get the best education they can. His attitude is one
where students are paramount. He just doesn’t want students to succeed as well
as the previous generation, he wants them to supercede.

“We have the opportunity to shape the future for our
children,” he said at the recent webinar at the Swan Hill campus in Victoria. “If
we limit our children’s learning to that of our own capacity they will never
surpass us. If we limit our students learning to what’s in our text book they
will never surpass a text book.”

Mr Vaughan offers caution about teaching and that it must be
done in a manner that not only enhances their knowledge, but also that the
information is helping them achieve their aims. This isn’t just about making
students responsible for their own development but also trusting them with the
outcomes.

“Just because you see a student in a learning-to-learn environment,
it doesn’t mean they have to have access to all the rubbish out there,” he
said. “Students can acquire these skills and become career-ready, life-long
learners without being exposed to the rubbish that is available from society.
Therefore we protect our students by what we do and the way we do it.”

Teachers also have to not only encourage the self-learning,
but also be prepared to let go of some traditional ideals that are staples for
the teaching environment.

“We as teachers have to learn to let go,” said Mr Vaughan. “For
too long we have been in control of the knowledge. And we hug this knowledge?
Why? It’s our value. We are valuable because we have knowledge. As teachers we
have to learn how to let go and how we do things. That takes unlearning old
habits and learning new habits. That’s the process we are going to step
through.”